NB: This post was delayed by lack of connectivity while in Alaska. Hope you enjoy!

This shows me in my extremely fashionable Un-Cruise beanie and the lovely lounge aboard the Safari Endeavor

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

I awoke this morning when Jimmie suddenly announced that it was 7:30, and we were late for breakfast. Sure enough the speaker bar under the TV said 7:35 and I leapt out of bed to check why my alarm had not gone off. I opened the desk drawer, touched the home button and read 4:10. I quickly informed Jimmie the actual time and then rolled over, relieved, to go back to sleep for another two hours.

Today’s activities included a wonderful hour long massage by Nikki (included) and a leisurely morning in the lounge watching as the various activities unfolded out the window.

There were the “bushwackers” who went off in the zodiac to their hike, the “beach combers”, who were gathered on the far shore,

the SUPs, six of them magestically stroking their way across the inlet,

the first group of kayakers paddling across to the point near Roberts Islands.

Lunchwas followed by the Kayaking 101 session where my father and I, two related-by-birth Type As got into a kayak and were shoved off into the 48 degree Alaskan water together, father in the stern with what proved to be extremely inaccurate steering peddles, daughter in the prow, paddling her brains out to try to point the kayak in the direction she wanted to go. Classic struggles. We had a blast.

Sadly, I have no pix because I didn’t take my camera in the kayak. Drat!

However, on our kayaking venture, we were fortunate to be in the company of our guide, Jackie Hedgepeth. We saw a fully grown female King salmon jumping in the water near the mouth of the river, slamming down on her side to loosen her roe prior to swimming up to spawn.

King Salmon slapping on her side to dislodge the roe prior to swimming up stream

Marbled murrelet getting up in the air

We saw adorable marble murrelets who literally bounced across the top of the water, looking for traction to get their full bellies airborn,  pigeon guillemots, and a drenched bald eagle, huddling miserably in the top of the Sitka spruce tree.

Pigeon Guillemot with bring red feet

This is not my picture because I didn’t have my camera with me, but this eagle is doing just what the one we saw did, holding his wet wings behind himself to try to dry off.

The crew members of the Safari Endeavor are lovely. 34 in number, they think of all that you could need to be comfortable. Returning from the kayaking, we were greeted with the welcoming lounge, where hot water, decaf coffee and coffee are always available, hot chocolate and hot apple cider are only a packet away.

The bar is open, which is not my dealio, but a lovely thing for those who wanted a hot toddy after a kayaking outing.

All three meals are served at the table in the dining room, which is bordered by huge picture windows overlooking the water.

And every night, we’d have another interesting lecture about the glaciers, or the marine mammals, or the fauna we had seen that day. Spectacular!